Clinical trial · Observational
Exploring the Link Between Cancer Genetics and PPSP
Exploring the Link Between Cancer Genetics and Persistent Post-surgical Pain (PPSP) Following Breast Cancer Treatment
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Pain is common in cancer, affecting between 40 and 60% of patients depending on tumour type and stage of disease, and represents a major area of unmet need in cancer survivors. Despite advances in treatment, there has been no significant reduction in those who experience pain. Breast cancer is common. It represents 10% of newly diagnosed cancers globally and is often associated with pain. Exact physiological mechanisms for cancer pain are not yet fully established. There is a complex relationship between a malignant lesion and its micro-environment; a tumour does not exist in isolation but has a dynamic relationship with host cells. There is a growing interest in delineating the relationship between tumour manifestations and pain. By retrospectively identifying individuals who have been referred to specialist pain clinics at a cancer centre and matching them to controls, the investigators can identify two groups of patients (those who experienced significant problems with pain and those who did not). Accessing paraffin-embedded tissue samples from those that have had surgical resections, will allow the investigators to compare tissue samples, in particular the metabolic and genetic differences, between the two groups. No new tissue samples will be required for this study. Pain is a major area of unmet need in cancer survivors. The investigators propose that this project would provide valuable knowledge and pilot data regarding the link between pain and tumour genetics. It has the potential to identify tumour genes or mutations that are associated with greater incidences of pain and ultimately potentially guide targeted interventions to help reduce the frequency and impact of pain on patients living with and beyond cancer.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
| Cancer-related Pain | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Chronic Post Cancer Surgery Pain | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (0)
Data not yet available
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- label
- Patients with pain
- description
- This will be the group of patients in whom pain is a significant enough problem, that they have been referred to the specialist Pain Management Team. These patients will be identified retrospectively. Patients seen in Pain Management Clinics between 1st of January 2016 and 31st of December 2018, who have consented to be included in the Pain Management database and have a clinician specified pain diagnosis of pain persistent post-surgical pain following breast cancer treatment will be identified. If these patients have an unclear pain diagnosis, they will not be included.
- label
- Patients without pain
- description
- This will be the group of patients in whom pain is deemed not to be a significant problem. Once again, these patients will be identified retrospectively. Appropriately matched patients to the 52 patients in the "patients with pain" will be identified using records of hospital operating lists by the peri-operative medicine team. Patients will be matched based upon the following details: * Age (within 5 years of matched case) * Surgical procedure (matched for the following elements: * Surgery to breast tissue (biopsy, lumpectomy, wide-local excision or mastectomy) * +/- Sentinal lymph node biopsy or axillary dissection * +/- Reconstruction * Surgical procedure within 3-months of matched case. Provided these individuals have not had an appointment with or referral to the Pain Management Team, they will be included in the matched controls.
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients receiving treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital. * Patients with a diagnosis of primary breast cancer. * Patients who have had surgical resection of their breast tumour. * Paraffin-embedded tissue samples available from Royal Marsden Tissue Banks. Exclusion Criteria: * Under 18 years of age. * Lack of adequate tissue sample available from the Tissue Bank.
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available